


Inhale (In Hell, There's Heaven)

by moomintrollz



Series: ENY [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Bittersweet, Epistolary, Fix-It, Gen, Multi, POV Alternating, Post Revolution, Rebuilding, Team as Family, Vignette, i should be honest i havent the foggiest how i should tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24702526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moomintrollz/pseuds/moomintrollz
Summary: Tonberry@shanklizardme in the lifestream: what tendril all the milfs on 🤔gaia: GET OUT ‼️12.5k likes 7.5k rekwehs--(Or, the follow up I said I probably wouldn't write forEverybody Needs You)
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Series: ENY [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785859
Comments: 32
Kudos: 150





	1. The World 2

**Author's Note:**

> hello! there is zero chance of you understanding a lot of what’s going on here if you haven’t read everybody needs you, but everybody needs you is HUGE, and for that i apologize lol
> 
> title is from frank ocean’s [solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_SEwgDl02E), which is not at all related to this. i’m just bad at naming things and i liked idea of following naming tradition from the first fic.
> 
> i should be honest, i waffled for a bit about whether i wanted to write this. and then when i started writing it, i wasn’t sure it was worth posting. i meant it when i said i felt like the story ENY told was completed. i do not like it when stories are dragged out, and i worried that anything else i wrote wouldn’t add to this overarching story. 
> 
> i WILL say, however, that this is not at all “required reading”—if you were satisfied with the ending of ENY, as i was, don’t feel like you’ll be missing much by not tackling this. playing the remake, along with slowly going through ENY to scoop up the last of my mistakes, had this universe bouncing around in my thoughts and i wanted to touch base with the world and return to the characters that gave me the most difficulty while writing.
> 
> all that said, i do hope you enjoy reading this. writing it, like last time, was hugely cathartic and fun. this is completely finished and i’ll post the next chapter tomorrow. it's short, esp compared to ENY—i'd sooner call this a follow-up than a sequel. catch you on the flip side!
> 
> editing was, again, done by my friend and personal cheerleader danny! i love you, i appreciate you!

**Cloud Strife’s Revolution** (from Gaiapedia, the free encyclopedia)

**Cloud Strife’s Revolution** , sometimes called **Strife’s Revolution** or just **the Revolution** , is the colloquial term for the joint mutual-aid and militant revolutionary group responsible for the Day of the Jungle and, partly, the establishment of the New Gaia pact. Though the group was formally disbanded, many of its members (including its leader) were absorbed into the NGP in the years following the Day of the Jungle. Much of what is known about the full scope of Strife’s Revolution is sourced from a series of interviews conducted by journalist and former anti-ShinRa activist Imani McMorris.

_Association with AVALANCHE  
_ According to Tifa Lockhart, she, Cloud Strife, and Vincent Valentine began planning for the group as a way to support marginalized communities in Midgar; particularly those living underneath the plate. Through her work underneath the plate, Lockhart became fast friends with one Barret Wallace, leader of Midgar’s branch of AVALANCHE. She agreed to use her bar, the Seventh Heaven, as a base of operations for the group, who historically had issues with escaping the city of Midgar’s authority. Strife, after spending time as a cadet in the SOLDIER program, was “dissatisfied” with what he saw, and reached out to Lockhart about building connections with AVALANCHE. [...]

_Efforts  
_ Funded by both its members and a handful of wealthy sponsors, Strife’s Revolution supported the living of undercity residents. School-aged children were given three meals a day at the Seventh Heaven free of charge. Abandoned buildings, after being repaired, served as shelter for people of all ages. Emergency funds were circulated with regularity. Similar services were available for members outside of Midgar. [...]

_The Day of the Jungle  
_ The Day of the Jungle refers to the first day in a series of violent overthrows of ShinRa power around the world. The name, inspired by the system of animal-based codenames employed by members of the Revolution, was coined by Imani McMorris. While most experts agree that the violent portion of Strife’s Revolution lasted roughly two weeks largely in the form of a war of attrition, the Day of the Jungle in itself is noted for the abrupt and systemic nature with which it began. Accounts of the day from across the world note concurrent times, tactics, and waves of communication. Midgar’s reactor 01 shut down at the same time as several reactors around the world, and the initial response from ShinRa was met with counterattacks from in-network SOLDIER members and other powerful materia users, crippling many of the company’s lower-level operatives and mechanical weapons. The Day of the Jungle and the days that followed exemplified the careful planning that went into their execution.

Very little is known about how the Day of the Jungle was planned. According to Strife and his associates, members of the Revolution were outfitted with illegal weapons and riot gear like kevlar and night vision goggles. The majority of these resources were funded by in-network ShinRa donors, most notably the former Generals and Reeve Tuesti. As revealed from later interviews with operatives of Strife’s group, members were trained on a number of scenarios and self-defense methods, and they were taught the basics of a variety of languages to communicate with each other on the ground. 

In an interview, an operative famously stated that, “We never actually knew when the day was going to come, but the point of all the stuff we were doing was to make sure that we’d be ready no matter when it happened.” [...]

The Day of the Jungle is also noted by the large-scale use of magic that went into its execution. Huge Materia, stolen from several ShinRa hotspots around the world, were distributed to different legs of Strife’s Revolution for communal use. Some experts believe that the simultaneous use of such magics is what roused the Lifestream into making its largest ever appearance in history. You can read more about the LIfestream’s presence on the Day of the Jungle here. 

\--

**The New Gaia Pact** (from Gaiapedia, the free encyclopedia)

**The New Gaia Pact** (sometimes abbreviated as **NGP** ) is a provisional government established to consolidate the legal authority of governmental bodies turned into puppet states under the rule of the ShinRa Electric Power Company. The New Gaia Pact promotes mutual-aid, ethical practice, and evidenced-based implementation of intervention in a number of critical areas. The NGP is unique in that its numbers are composed of a grab bag of professionals and civilians. It accepts volunteers for its different sectors, who are then expected to undergo rigorous screening to ensure their fit.

The NGP was tentatively established some time after the Day of the Jungle. With the support of legal teams and former government officials, the NGP drafted their constitution, which was quickly ratified in a historic vote. The NGP immediately moved forward with a series of historic asset seizures, the results of which serves as a source of funding for an overwhelming amount of its work. Notable subjects of the NGP’s asset seizures are several higher-echelon members of the ShinRa hierarchy, including its entire executive board, SOLDIER’s three generals, Reeve Tuesti, and Midgar’s Mayor Domino. [...]

**\--**

**Gaia** (from Gaiapedia, the free encyclopedia) 

_This article is a_ **_stub_ ** _. You can help Gaiapedia by_ **_expanding it._ **

_This page is currently_ **_protected_ ** _from editing until disputes have been resolved. Please discuss changes on the talk page or request unprotection. (Protection is_ **_not an endorsement_ ** _of the current page version.)_

**Gaia** , (sometimes referred to as **Planet** and **The Planet** ), is the third planet from the Sun and, until recently, the only known astronomical object known to harbor life. 

For some time, planetologists and AVALANCHE have posited that Gaia is itself a living organism. This was seemingly confirmed on the Day of the Jungle, when the Lifestream was roused into covering the sky in response to the use of several Huge Materia. Cloud Strife has briefly touched on the functionality of the Huge Materia in interviews, describing it as “a way to help the planet get its things in order [1].” Aerith Gainsborough, the only confirmed living Ancient[2][3][4][5][6], has corroborated this statement by claiming that this event destroyed the last remnant of the alien Jenova, whose crash into the planet lead to the extinction of the Cetra race[7], the Northern Crater[8], and a planetary sickness [citation needed] that made Gaia especially susceptible to exploitation. 

Ever since the Day of the Jungle, the strength of individuals enhanced by mako has been slowly declining [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], and the effectiveness of mako reactors were on a steady decline as the New Gaia Pact began the process of shutting them down [21][22][23][24][25][26]. 

_Consciousness and Personification  
_ Aerith Gainsborough has answered many questions about Gaia’s connection to Her people. Gainsborough has described the Planet as “compassionate, old, and unfocused[27].” [...]

\--

**ShinRa Leaks** (from Gaiapedia, the free Encyclopedia) 

_It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled_ _Science Department (ShinRa Leaks)_ _,_ _Wutai (ShinRa Leaks)_ _, and_ _Human Rights Abuses of the ShinRa Electric Power Company_ _. (Discuss) (24 February 05)_

The **ShinRa Leaks** were a series of leaks from the Day of the Jungle revolutionaries. In the months leading up to the Day of the Jungle, Cloud Strife and unnamed compatriots released thousands of documents detailing the machinations of the ShinRa Electric Power Company. [...]

  1. Human Rights Abuses 
  2. Blackmail
  3. Experimentation



3b. The Cetra

3c. SOLDIER

3d. Project G

3e. Project S

3f. The Kalm Disaster

3g. Wutai

3h. Citizens of Midgar

3i. Citizens of Gaia

3j. Animals

3k. Professors Gast, Hollander, and Hojo

3l. Jenova

  1. Bribing
  2. Money Laundering
  3. Military
  4. Government
  5. Environmental



[...]

\--

**Lifestream Boards**

**_Board:_** Day of the Jungle (348956 posts)

_Thread:_ Memories (8675 posts)

_Thread:_ Participants (4367 posts)

**_Board:_ ** Cloud Strife’s Revolution (430228 posts)

_Thread:_ Interviews (2235 posts)

_Thread:_ News (78223 posts)

**_Board:_ ** New Gaia Pact (12343 posts) 

_Thread:_ News (205843 posts)

  
_Thread:_ Recruitment Process Venting (100686 posts)

**_Board:_ ** ShinRa Electric Power Company (986755 posts) 

_Thread:_ Worker Confessions (23843 posts)

_Thread:_ ShinRa Leaks (74286 posts)

_Thread:_ Asset Seizures (LOL) (4200 posts)

_Thread:_ Former Operative News (27894 posts)

_Thread:_ Bootlicker Cringe Compilation (235765 posts)

**_Board:_ ** Gaia (325768 posts)

_Thread:_ Aerith Gainsborough (69988 posts)

_Thread:_ Scientific Articles (437563 posts)

_Thread:_ Cosmo Canyon and AVALANCHE (123743 posts)

_Thread:_ Magic (205473 posts)

  
  


_Aerith Gainsborough_

[Page 23]

reallyreallyyeah (veteran user) (298 endorsements) (West Continent)  
Did you guys see Omega’s latest tweet? She’s literally using magic on these flowers with no materia in sight. [https://khwetter.com/kweh/2398429384723048…]   
x275 likes x80 wows

DietPotionTastesGoodActually (regular) (25 endorsements) (Northern Continent Bumpkin)  
breh what the fuck why does she bother using a watering can if she can do that  
x150 likes x300 hahas

Hobogoblin (newbie) (5 endorsements) (Midgar Grown)  
i grew up with her in the slums. she used to call this her bloom song haha. everyone would get excited when it was time to help her sing to the flowers because not only was it super funny that she can’t carry a tune to save herself, if you paid really close attention you might be able to see something neat  
x400 hmmms x89 likes

HotTonberrySummer (regular) (55 endorsements) (Plains Child)  
@Hobogoblin I’m BEGGING you for a source on that  
x200 agrees

Hobogoblin (newbie) (5 endorsements) (Midgar Grown)  
@HotTonberrySummer haha sure!   
[A photo of assembled school children. A red circle, complete with arrows, has been drawn around Aerith’s face.] sector 5 kiddoes. im the weirdo with braces to the far right  
x800 wows x1025 likes

[Page 60]

ButNotTooNotFamilar (veteran user) (685 endorsements) (Plains Child)  
And maybe this is me overstepping, but after reading those leaks, can you really blame her partners for being so protective? The interviewer was way out of line anyways. Say what you want about the Cetras’ obligation to the Planet or whatever, Aerith Gainsborough is pretty young and she’s already got a lot of responsibilities. I said it a long time ago, as someone from the older generations, I’m so proud of you young folks for everything you’ve done to help get everything back running. I’ve always rooted for you guys, and I’m so proud to have been a part of everything. 

But I think—maybe because the way the world made you guys mature so rapidly—sometimes you get caught up in the idea of this timeline. If you make plans for life, I promise you the Gods will find a way to make you zig and zag far and away from whatever you thought would be coming next. So what if she doesn’t know the answer to a vague ass question like “what next?” She’s not queen of the world. The three of them are traveling all over the damn planet and they have a baby on the way. It’s truly, in every conceivable way that matters, _not that serious.  
_ x2365 likes x800 thanks x345 agrees

  
2.

(From **The End: In Conversation with Gaia’s Youngest Revolutionaries** by Beatrice Herman)

Tifa Lockhart stands at a modest five foot three. Her freckled face lightens into a smile of greeting as I approach her supply outpost here in the plains. She’s got her thick hair piled up into a tight bun atop her head, and she’s dressed sensibly in a faded green summer jacket, a white t-shirt, and denim shorts. As I move in to shake her hand, I’m surprised to notice that she’s very obviously pregnant. 

This is new, I say. She grins. “I’m about five months along!”

I’m a mother of three, and can’t contain my curiosity. Twenty is so young to be having your first baby! Does she feel ready? 

“Not really, but being unprepared is something I’m pretty familiar with. I’ve adjusted before and I’ll adjust again!” Is her wry answer. 

It’s not like she’s lacking for help. Tifa directs her crew with a soft spoken authority, calmly guiding frantic young people who are in search of this or that supply. She is overseeing aid efforts for this side of the world—it is here that budgeting and allocation of supplies for the Eastern Continent happens. Tifa explains that she’s been “benched” from more intensive duties, and spends most of her time as an administrator of sorts. Today, Tifa’s goal is simple: she will be delivering a box of greens to a nearby chocobo farm, to save the owners the trouble of having to brave lands so close to Midgar Zolom territory. Since the shutdown of reactors, Midgar Zolom sightings have been fewer and far between, but the remaining population is still a real threat. I’ll be accompanying the crew to and from the farm, and we’ll have our conversation in the interim. 

Once everything that will be in transit is accounted for, me, Tifa, and four others pile into a truck with a long bed. 

“Everybody ready?” She calls out. 

We get the all clear, and she starts the truck. 

[...]

I ask Tifa if there was any part of her work that scared her. Cloud Strife’s revolution was complex and organized. Were there ever any hiccups or roadblocks? 

Tifa shifts gear, expertly maneuvering her truck over a rough patch on the dirt road. “Oh, plenty. I think one of the first things we kept having trouble with was the fact that ShinRa had eyes everywhere. A lot of our work in the slums was very touch-and-go in the beginning. We couldn’t do anything Cloud was thinking about without building trust, and that’s hard to do in the slums.”

What’s the fastest way to build trust? 

Tifa laughs. “Help out, share, and don’t be a snitch!” 

[...]

“I think the scariest thing we had to face, after everything went down, was so many people asking ‘What next?’ Because the world hasn’t really been, you know, free for a while. When you think about it, thirty years is not that long, but ShinRa was able to melt into so many aspects of how we live. When you take away that stability, how do you help people recover? We had lots of work to do.” 

Everyone remembers the chaotic months that followed the Day of the Jungle and the days that followed. Many ShinRa operations around the Planet were disrupted almost simultaneously, the result of years’ worth of meticulous planning on the part of one Cloud Strife, the ex-SOLDIER behind the largest uprising in world history. 

“We lost a lot of people. We spent a lot of time and money making sure everyone was prepared, but of course you can’t plan for everything. We were definitely expecting ShinRa to send some of their machines out, but some of them were a lot more powerful than we were anticipating. I think… you know what, nevermind.” And here she shrugs, clearly uncomfortable with following this thought. 

She tells me of the efforts to reclaim the bodies of those killed, in Midgar and beyond. Freest of casualties was Mideel, as the settlement was small and largely ignored by larger forces at hand. It proved to be a huge advantage, as they were able to provide the manpower to bring a huge materia to life in preparation for the Day of the Jungle.

[...]

What’s next on their plans for development? 

“The Northern Continent,” Tifa answers, giving me an amused glance at my surprised exclamation. 

As a part of their work, the New Gaia Pact has been offering assistance for people wanting to pursue a variety of different ventures around the world. According to Lockhart, funniest of all was someone’s earnest request to live in the snow, citing ancestral connection to the same seafaring explorers that she and Strife are descended from.

“There’s real potential for historical, magical, anthropological discoveries in that area. It is where Jenova was found, after all. So a few of us are going up there to make sure it’s liveable and safe. We’ll start at Icicle Inn and branch out over time. There’s also the fact that Aerith is crazy about figuring out where she can make stuff grow.” 

[...] 

In all my years as a journalist, the words Tell Me About Yourself have never elicited a simpler response than Tifa Lockhart’s “I like taking care of people.” 

She notes the amused surprise on my face with a little laugh, asks if she really has to say more. Gentle prodding gets me more details. Our journey takes us up hills, through valleys, and across bridges, and Tifa drives one-handed for most of it, casual and practiced. She starts an almost absentminded account of her life by telling me she didn’t learn to drive until she came to Midgar. 

Nibelheim, nestled deeply into the eponymous mountains on the upper Western Continent, is a small village with roots in the storied Northern Continent explorers _._ Insular and chilly, there was little access to the outside world even with ShinRa’s involvement. Technology was scarce, and the only person in the town to ever own a car as she was growing up was the barkeep’s son, who used it to bring supplies in from nearby towns.

“My family was rich for Nibelheim, if that gives you any context!” Lockhart jokes

Her mother died when she was young, and not soon after, her father felt it was important that she learned self defense. She trained with Yao Zangan, who I spoke with last week in my coverage of the revolution’s older members, in mixed Wutaian martial arts. 

“I was really resistant, at first,” Lockhart recalls, pausing so that one of her crew members can lean lean forward from the back and pop a white grape into her mouth, which she eats with an appreciative hum, “I was a kid and didn’t really understand what I was experiencing with grief. I wanted to stay inside most of the time. My dad was worried about me, and I figure he was trying to knock out two birds with one stone. It’d get me doing something again, and it’d also help me protect myself. My dad is a very neurotic person, always thinking about the worst case scenario. My mom never took him all that seriously, and it helped calm him down.”

She’s quiet for a moment before she says, “When my mom died, my dad did his best to distract me. He read bedtime stories. I’d mentioned wanting to learn piano, like, once? He asked me if there were any hobbies I wanted to pick up and I wanted him to just stop talking! Then all of a sudden we had a piano. But honestly, most of the time he’d just cry his eyes out. My dad has an anxiety problem. He’s so protectively scared, all the time. It’s always ‘what if,’ this, ‘what if,’ that. Sometimes I wonder if that kind of thing is hereditary.” 

It’s through her training that she first met Cloud Strife, she says. I’m a little confused that they wouldn’t have met in such a small village. In the recent census, Nibelheim’s population rang in at a whopping 345 people. 

“Oh, everybody knew _of_ Cloud, but he didn’t really talk like that. If he wasn’t with [his mother], he was up the mountainside exploring. He somehow convinced Zangan to start teaching him, and then Zangan wanted us to start practicing together. When we first met, he literally knocked me off my feet and said ‘It’s so nice to meet you!’” 

Everyone in the truck laughs at this. Tifa giggles daintily into her gloved hand, before adding, “It pissed me off, so I pulled on his hair. He had a ponytail back then, you know. Then when we had to fight again, he came to practice with a shaved head!” 

This invites more laughter. Lockhart’s people burst forth with amusing anecdotes about their illustrious leader. Every single story seems in character for Strife, who has gained a reputation for his quirky mannerisms. I hear stories of Strife wearing chicken masks and chasing down cactuars and, bizarrely enough, dancing with the chocobos on the very farm we are headed towards. Lockhart listens to each story with a grin, the very picture of a young woman in love. 

The unique relationship between Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, and Cloud Strife has been the focus of some media attention for a while. The logistics of it have been questioned, and others have voiced their bemused support, but one thing that is clear is that it is going strong. As important activists in the world scale, they’ve had to deal with scrutiny completely unrelated to the important work they have done. Such is the nature of fame, however it is gained—and it has been pointed out that such open gossip is a sign of a people on the mend.

[...]

When we finally reach the farm, Tifa’s group is a flurry of organized chaos. Despite her protests, one of the young men in her crew helps her down from the transport truck as the rest rush to the back to remove greens from the truck bed. 

It’s clear that Lockhart and her crew were expected. An older man approaches, and tips his hat to her in greeting. They talk shop, Lockhart’s fists resting on her hips.

“Can’t thank you enough for your help, little miss,” I hear the owner tell her, “is there anything I can do to help out?” 

“Keep doing what you have been, and let us know if you need anything else.” Lockhart says. 

One of her crew members smiles at me over a stack of boxes. “She should be, like, President of the world. Well, I take that back. I would say that if we hadn’t already learned the hard way that we shouldn’t have one of those.” 

The kids are alright.

\--

FILE NAME: SHINRA_INTERVIEWS_093.mp3

[00:25:36]

IW: And can you tell us a bit about your professional background? 

TG: I got my DNP at the University of Junon. I was a pediatric nurse practitioner for about ten years. 

IW: And you had your license revoked a little while before you started working with Professor Hojo, correct?

TG: Suspended, actually, but I’m sure you already knew that. Do we really need to talk about that? 

IW: I guess not. How did you become involved with the ShinRa Science Department? 

TG: My little sister—I pretty much raised her and she always wanted us to be close—was working as an aide and kept hinting that there was this huge project she was involved with. She wanted me to come do some interviews. I had basically hit rock bottom and I was sick of living on my own, so I agreed. 

IW: And what was the process like? 

TG: (Laughs.) Rigorous. NDA after NDA. A psych eval. I had to take a test that was about as hard as my NP exam. And then I didn’t hear from them for a while, but I wasn’t allowed to leave Midgar. It was a good thing I was able to stay in my sister’s apartment. I got a phone call from Hojo telling me to pack anything I cared to bring with me and be ready for a move. 

IW: Just like that? 

TG: Just like that. I packed my bags and then the next day this Turk comes knocking, frog marches me to a car, and drives me to a helicopter pad. Off to Nibelheim we went. 

IW: What exactly was your role? 

TG: Initially they needed someone who could keep Sephiroth going, make sure he was developing well. Hojo wasn’t exactly known for being good with kids and I had expertise. I think it helped that my sister was on the team, though, for sure. And as Sephiroth grew, I guess he realized the both of us had gotten attached and figured it’d be good for his development. 

IW: What do you mean by that? 

TG: (Sighs.) He was a really temperamental baby. He had... abilities, you know? And no idea how to deal with them. Enhancements can be overwhelming for adults who got them on purpose. Pair that with a kid who doesn’t really know what’s going on? Disaster. He’d be levitating things, or Hojo would leave some materia in his nursery to test a hypothesis and someone would wind up dead. And babies get lonely. When I came onto the S project, I realized pretty fast that no one was touching him unless they needed to do something with him because they were all afraid of him. Hojo caught me rocking him one night and I thought for sure I was going to be fired, but he told me I should prepare to stay on the project indefinitely.

IW: So what happened after that? 

TG: I was there to help ensure his health was coming along nicely, but if tests weren’t happening, I’d honestly just spend time with him. I’d put him in one of those slings and we’d walk around the labs. I talked to him. It’s really good to talk to babies like you would anybody else. We’d play, and I’d take the liberty of tracking things. How fast he was learning and developing, things like that. He was truly extraordinary. 

IW: In what ways? 

TG: Gods, could he talk! He babbled a lot, which was really funny for all of us on the team, and I think it went a long way towards endearing the rest to him. And then all of a sudden the babbling was talking. His first word was “Why?” and then after that he’d be asking question after question, no matter what we did and he was learning scarily fast. Why was my skin brown and not his? Why was the sky blue? Why did we have a yellow dwarf star and not a blue hypergiant? Why did he have to get his blood drawn and not the rest of us? Why did he hear things sometimes? Drove Hojo crazy, but it’s not like he didn’t answer every single question Sephiroth had anyway. Good data, he said.

IW: And Sephiroth called you Nanny. 

TG: Yes. (Laughs.) Isn’t that awful? We didn’t wear name tags or anything. He learned what the word meant when he was about three and just started calling me that. It’s honestly just a nickname now. Hojo was so stupid about things like that. He exploited our attachment but didn’t want to allow other attachments. He just genuinely did not seem to understand how human connection worked. So yeah, Sephiroth came up with his own names. I was Nanny. The aide who always got him set up for operations and things like that was Lackey. (Laughs.) The folks who helped out during strength tests and other experiments were Notebook One, Notebook Two, stuff like that.

TG: But yeah. He called me Nanny. And I mean, that’s what I was. Don’t get me wrong, I was complicit. It was a job first and foremost. Nursing had been my passion for a while, but I had a Masters in Biochemistry before all of that. I was doing the mad science and helping, right up to the Day of the Jungle. But I was there for him more than anything. I nursed him, I put him to sleep, I taught him to read, all of that. When I could see him.

IW: And he couldn’t know your name? 

TG: It just wasn’t allowed. 

[01:25:32]

IW: Tell me a bit about Sephiroth’s relationship to… Iflana? 

TG: Ifalna. Amazing woman. 

IW: The last pureblood Cetra.

TG: Yes. 

IW: You mentioned they were close.

TG: Yes, for a time. She wasn’t really around for long, in the grand scheme of things. Dr. Gast was adamant that subjects being investigated by the department be given some free time, some time to roam. She would visit his room and read him some books, or they’d talk. Sephiroth asked a lot of questions as a kid, like I said, and I think it just helped her to have someone else to talk to. She’d lost a lot of privileges by trying to escape a bunch of times over the years.

IW: What kinds of things did they talk about? 

TG: She helped him understand a lot of what made him different. Why he was stuck in the labs, things like that. There were cameras everywhere, so they’d both be punished for it if she said something she wasn’t supposed to, but everyone recognized the benefits of having her around.

IW: Did you notice a change? After Dr. Gast and Ifalna left?

TG: (Laughs.) I should set the record straight. Ifalna and Dr. Gast did not leave. They were allowed to go. But to answer your question, not really. Sephiroth was not like other kids. I could see he was sad about it, but he knew better than to complain about it much. He was a little quieter after that, maybe. 

IW: It’s to my understanding that she wasn’t really gone for long. 

TG: Yeah, after Dr. Gast was killed and we reclaimed her, and we brought her little girl right back to the labs. Hojo wanted them separate. I mean, when we got to Midgar that wasn’t hard to do at all. We had so much space. They were right under each other’s noses for years and none the wiser.

TG: When she… when she tried to escape, that last time, she was hurt pretty bad by those knucklehead troopers. When we finally found her—because you know Midgar, no one was really going to do something about a body right away if it was in the slums—we took her back to the labs. We did as many tests on her as we could. I’m pretty sure her brain was still in our labs before everything was seized by those revolutionaries.

TG: We found some similarities between her and Sephiroth. Quite a bit. I mean, we already knew of a few. They had shared DNA, even. Their brain activity was alike in many ways, especially in the areas directly related to control of magic. It was fascinating, really. Dr. Gast was wrong about Jenova being an Ancient, but after we were done with those tests we realized that the body Jenova was found in definitely was one. We actually have no way of knowing what Jenova looked like before she bonded to that Ancient, either. 

TG: I remember Hojo was roaring mad for a hot minute that he couldn’t separate what made Jenova herself, separate of the host, but I think that’s the point. Jenova adapts. Their unification was absolute, in a way we had only been able to replicate with Sephiroth, and Hollander’s subjects, to an extent. Up until that point, at least. They’d effectively been in stasis together for thousands of years, aided by some of the Cetra’s magics, I expect. So that was how we knew for sure that, while Jenova was no Ancient, she was certainly the reason there were so few Ancients left in the world.

[02:04:23]

IW: Did you love him? 

TG: Is this question necessary? 

IW: No. I apologize, that wasn’t really something I should have asked. 

TG: I did. I do. I’ll always love Sephiroth. 

IW: Then why didn’t you try to do anything about what was happening? 

TG: (Inaudible.) 

TG: Can we just move on? 

[02:58:15]

TG: It was a weird adjustment when we made it to Midgar. Hojo was slowly transitioning towards giving him a little more privacy and the mixed signals were driving him crazy. I mean, if you’re in SOLDIER you’re gonna live in the barracks like any SOLDIER, right? But everyone knew he was different, because I mean, you’ve seen how he looked. He wasn’t being bullied but he sure was being ostracized. He was ten. 

IW: He was ten? 

TG: Yeah. He’d had the best tutors in everything. He was ready in every way that counted. 

IW: He was ten. 

TG: I told you, Sephiroth wasn’t like other kids.

[03:22:11]

IW: And Wutai? 

TG: (Sighs.) There’s so much to say about Wutai. Sephiroth hates it there. He still hasn’t told me much about what happened. When he came back, Hojo was just itching to get back to his science. We did test after test after test. He’d returned with the materia for Masamune and Hojo wanted to infuse it, which is extremely traumatic on the body, as I’m sure you know from those leaks. He didn’t wake up for a long time, after the procedure. Hollander’s boys stopped by everyday to make sure he was okay. Drove Hojo crazy. Well... crazier. 

IW: What can you tell me about the Science Department’s involvement with Wutai as a whole? 

TG: I’m genuinely not trying to buy myself more time when I say this, I know what has to happen. But I absolutely cannot give you the answers you want without a separate interview and more focused questions.

IW: Okay, let’s refocus, then. 

[03:25:49]

TG: After the war, he was just rising and rising in the ranks. My job with him was pretty much done, but Hojo kept me on the team because he had such an awful temper and he worked best with people who knew what to expect with him and how not to piss him off. I’d watched everything we did with the usual tests so it was easy for me to do it in his stead. And Sephiroth, he… (Laughs.) Even after all that, he’d always make sure to ask how I was doing and if I needed anything. Asking me what I needed while I drew his blood. I didn’t do half bad.

IW: I’m told you visited him sometimes. 

TG: I wouldn’t call them visits. It was usually to make sure he was keeping up with a new experiment, or that he was feeling okay. I never stopped by without Hojo approving it first. I would always spend time with him, though. When he got his own apartment, I taught him how to cook. He was afraid to scare people in the salons, you know, because of how he looked? So I would trim his hair. Stuff like that. I really looked forward to that... it was great to see him grow.

[03:45:35]

TG: They’ve been kinder to all of us than we deserve. But I guess that’s the new world order, and all that. I’m not allowed to go outside, but I’m not starving either. And I get some time to call people.

IW: Have you spoken to Sephiroth recently? 

TG: Oh, yeah. I don’t know how he’s not disgusted with me. I call him and my sister every time I’m allowed, and I split the three hours I get down the middle between the two of them.

IW: Did you tell him your name? 

TG: He told me he didn’t want to know. That’s fair, I think.

IW: Does he know about what’s going to happen? 

TG: (Laughs.) Yeah, he knows. He and that, that Omega. That Cloud? They’re pretty friendly. And besides, what would you expect, anyway? There’s a lot of people who should be given a second chance, but we seriously don’t count. I’ve had a good run.

IW: What kinds of things do you and Sephiroth talk about? 

TG: He tells me about what he’s doing. He’s in Wutai. Poor kid. Again, he really hates it there. I’m proud of him for wanting to do right by them, though. I answer his questions about the Science Department. I apologize. He doesn’t forgive me. Do you know, he told me that outright? “Nanny, I don’t forgive you.” I’m proud of him for that, too. I don’t deserve forgiveness. But I guess, what with all the changes we’re going through, it helps to have some familiarity. He’s a creature of habit and it stresses him out when that’s disrupted.

[04:02:23]

IW: Thank you for your time. 

TG: Thank you for yours. This has been more therapeutic than you realize. Can I say one last thing? 

IW: Of course. 

TG: Sephiroth, I know you’re going to be listening to this at some point. I’d take care of you all over again if I had the chance. I’m proud of you. Keep doing good things.

IW: Can we have your name again for the record? 

TG: Tamlen Glasgow. 

IW: And this is Indrid Welles, human rights lawyer for the New Gaia Pact. We are signing off. 

\--

3.

Genesis Luca  
@rhapsodos  
Dumb and dumber, but as for who’s who? Your guess is as good as mine. [A photo of Sephiroth and Angeal. Angeal has his arm thrown over Sephiroth’s shoulder. The two of them are smiling, eyes squinting against the sun. They both have their hair piled into messy buns atop their heads, and they are sitting on a picnic blanket.]

> silverelite  
>  @forevergeneralfan  
>  DID YOU GET THEM TO POSE FOR THIS? IT’S SO PRECIOUS!
> 
> Henriette B.  
>  @eyesonhen  
>  It’s still so weird seeing General Sephiroth with his hair and eyes like that. He  
>  and General Hewley look like they could be related!
> 
> Fanny :)  
>  @LLLand  
>  aw, sephiroth has freckles 🥺🥺🥺

  
  


Benny K.  
@laramiesyouruncle  
Isn’t it like comical that instead of telling us about the LITERAL ALIEN festering in our backyard ShinRa was like “time to exploit this for money :) :) :)”  
8k likes 6k rekwehs

Tonberry  
@shanklizard  
me in the lifestream: what tendril all the milfs on 🤔  
gaia: GET OUT ‼️  
12.5k likes 7.5k rekwehs

> Booberry  
>  @dietpotion
> 
> on gods i can’t wait till gaia come clap all our shit  
>  7.5k likes 2k rekwehs
> 
> Hamon  
>  @warcrimofnalz  
>  I HATE IT HERE  
>  5k likes 1k rekwehs

  
  


Nasser Mitchell  
@eyesonmitch  
Today my kid asked me if the Planet has a birthday and when I said I didn’t know she started crying and saying we need to give it cake so it won’t be sad. [A blurry photo of a child laying facedown on a carpet.]  
18k likes 6.5k rekwehs

  
  


\--

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
theres literally no reason for me to waste time on commas and apostrophes when im on my own time please stop complaining about it [Pinned Kweh]

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
good morning the terrible women in my life moved all the furniture in our house precisely one inch to the left to see if i would notice. am now considering moving to the woods to grind oats  
4k likes 2k rekwehs

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
you freakazoids complaining about losing your cushy exploitative jobs will not ever be equivalent to the actual lives your work put in danger

> Weskham Holland  
>  @Weskham  
>  Once again, the NGP has failed to offer clear answers about what will be done with the  
>  assets of former ShinRa employees. How long will the silence last? How long will we  
>  have to wait? Signed the petition here to get us back to where we were! https://….

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
oops if he wasnt lol

> Jamali K.  
>  @BeGentleBeKind  
>  It’s still so hard to reconcile the image the #NGP has made of Rufus ShinRa. He was nothing but kind to me when I worked with  
>  him! I just can’t believe he was involved in all of that

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
i can must should and will fold you as one does a paper hat ❤️

> Reno  
>  @RenoNobody  
>  @skee forgot the word ginger and called me cherry boy. Forgetting words type of dude.  
>  Can’t speak Common type of dude

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
this morning @DarinasBoy asked me if i would like to learn how to use my cane as a weapon and i just wanted to let you all know that im literally obsessed with him

> Zack Fair  
>  @DarinasBoy  
>  I’m just saying, nobody will expect you!  
>   
> 
> 
> Cloud Gainsborough  
>  @skee  
>  would love to study you

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
if you followed this account looking for anything of substance i’m gonna have to disappoint you. i’m just here to boost other people’s voices and embarrass the folks i love. i don’t need anybody’s attention while i’m doing the real work  
12.5k likes 2k rekwehs

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
the three of us take care of each other, they bully me, and things are good

> Yoyobae  
>  @materiaboy  
>  how’re you and the girls?! :) congrats on the new addition!!!!

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
made aerith smile

> TimbsToesUp  
>  @mustardyellowistheworstcolor  
>  Why did you and Tifa change your last names on all social media? Are you guys all  
>  married now?

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
do you think my kid is gonna see my kwehs and be embarrassed of me

> Tifa Gainsborough  
>  @Lockhart  
>  Cloud, you literally helped change the world
> 
> Cloud Gainsborough  
>  @skee  
>  yea but will they like me

Cloud Gainsborough  
@skee  
just answered a phone call from sephiroth and after three good minutes of silence he asked me “do you know anyone in wutai who would be willing to give me a kitten”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a small update on myself, for anyone who was curious. things are kind of bittersweet. i’m still grieving, currently couch surfing with family, and trying to figure out what to do about medical debt i accumulated from a surgery i couldn’t put off, so yikes! the good news is that i got into my top choice grad school and my tuition is covered by both a scholarship and a generous research fellowship. i’ll be getting my MA in international studies with a focus on sustainability and environmental justice, and to do that i’ll soon be packing up my entire life and moving to the other side of the country…!!!!!! now i just need to worry about finding an apartment in one of the most expensive places to live in the united states…!!! wish me luck, aahhhhh!!!! 
> 
> [black lives matter!](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/)


	2. After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kicked this idea around for a couple of months and 100% wasn't gonna post it. it underwent several incarnations and was originally a bit longer, but i felt like what i had written was kind of trite so i scrapped it all and started over, which is what lead to this short and sweet final product. 
> 
> going back to ENY for edits made me realize i still had a bit more to write for these characters in particular (i had such a hard time writing them in ENY) and the idea wouldn't leave me alone. i can't say with honesty that i like it, actually, but i spent a lot of time on it and figured maybe someone else was as curious about how they were doing as i apparently was! 
> 
> this is truly it for now, though. i hope you enjoy it!
> 
> thanks again to danny for helping me fix this up :)

1.

Emperor Godo’s terms for pardoned SOLDIERS and other ShinRa operatives involved in the subjugation of Wutai were simple and clear. In any way capable, they are to offer support to the people whose lives they impacted. 

Surprising everyone, SOLDIER’s three generals are asked to do their work in Wutai, on the ground. They are taken in to separate monasteries of Leviathan, not far outside of the capital. When they first arrive, the matriarch of these monasteries looks up at them from under the folds and wrinkles on her face and says, in a dialect that is almost distressingly incomprehensible, that if nothing else their height will prove useful when it’s time to sweep for cobwebs. 

Genesis is never bored, if nothing else. Life in Wutai tests the limits of his language skills often. Sephiroth is not there to murmur translations in his ear, so it is sink or swim. He learns vital vocabulary in reproaching swats from the elderly and in poorly disguised giggles from youths, and uses what spare time he has to scribble new characters into his skin. 

The bulk of their work comes from citizens who need their help. They row fields and coax farm animals. They use their magic to heal sicknesses and create water and rejuvenate the earth. Then, when they are done, it is back to the monastery and their modest quarters, where a spotty internet connection set up specifically for them awaits them with a simple but filling dinner. 

Servants of Leviathan give up their names when they take to monasteries, and generally refer to each other by title. The three of them are called _akuma_ —demon—individually and collectively. Despite its pejorative nature, none of the monks seem particularly frustrated with them, and view their abilities with a silent practicality. Genesis is comforted to learn that the three of them receive Leviathan’s blessings the same as anyone else at the end of the day—are expected to bow and accept the swipe of thumbs dipped in Leviathan’s tears between their eyes, so that its guidance might seep its way into their consciousness through their skin.

He speaks to people around the world when he can. He’s watched Aerith flourish on the other side of a computer screen, be it through their chats or reading the articles about her that occasionally pop up in the news. He speaks to his parents over the phone as frequently as possible, and makes steps to bridge the distance between the three of them. Before he realizes it, two years pass this way—seeing Angeal and Sephiroth almost entirely in passing, always working, a hand thrown up in greeting and the quirk of an affectionate, tired smile. 

On this day, the second anniversary of their arrival, Genesis realizes that the festering of resentment eating at his heart has begun to heal, because there is none of the dread that used to match the relief of seeing Angeal and Sephiroth headed his way. What was it they said, about absence and fondness?

“Did you miss us?” Angeal calls out, as the two of them trek their way up the path to the clearing they agreed to meet at. 

Genesis sees the top of their conical sun hats first, and then their faces, and there’s this air of lightness around them that’s so good to see that it pulls a smile onto Genesis’ face against his will.

Angeal, ever the sap, bullies him into a brief but tight hug, laughing and patting his back. The sun hat strapped to his head with twine is pushed back briefly by a powerful gust of wind, and sends his hair blowing into Genesis’ face. Genesis smooths it away with his hands, and then a high laugh of shock falls from his lips when he notices the streaks of gray at Angeal’s temple. 

“You’re _old!_ ” He bursts out. 

Angeal laughs in his face. “We’re the same age.” 

Then he leans in for another hug, and Genesis indulges the both of them by hugging back as tightly as he can. At this, the end of all things he ever thought would be in the cards for him, it feels so good to reconnect to his first friend. They are lucky to have been given this. 

Genesis pulls away to face Sephiroth.

He’s got a large picnic basket tucked into one arm, and he’s pushed his hat back, his hair disturbed from its usual braid from the wind’s disturbance. Years later, it’s still strange to see Sephiroth the way he is. The young man who’d once lamented his special existence, now with brown hair and brown eyes, the most human color. He’s sustained a few scars, has even begun to freckle in places. He’d confessed not thinking to use a hat during their early days in Wutai, and by the time the evidence of the sun’s attentions began to show on his body, he hadn’t much cared to do anything about it. He was busy, he said. Sephiroth has always had a self-image so vague and distant as to be concerning—had cared little for his appearance outside of the act of rebellion that was his hair. It’s nice to see that lack of care manifest as the result of attention laid elsewhere in his busy life, and not the darkness that plagued them all since childhood

“How are you, Sephiroth?” Genesis asks. 

They clasp hands in greeting, Sephiroth’s calloused, steady and warm.

“I’ve learned something new about Wutai’s religion,” He begins, in lieu of a proper greeting. 

That much hasn’t changed! 

“Oh?” Angeal hums, as they find a good spot under a tree. 

“It’s thought that the reason Leviathan still speaks to the people of Wutai is because of its connection to the land here. As you know, when summoning, you are calling on the manifestation of a legendary creature, not bringing it back to existence yourself. It’s a kind of half-life. It’s believed that when Leviathan died for the first time, its corpse formed the continent, and from its remains arose life in this corner of the world.” 

There’s a beautiful mysticism to the thought of that, a kind of sense in the slender archipelago that has been the source of so much pain for them. As from the earth will the people remain and eventually return, spending their days giving praise to their progenitor for its fruits. 

“You should write that down,” Angeal urges. 

“I’m not sure I have permission,” Sephiroth admits, “but I’ll always remember it. I thought the two of you might like to hear it.” 

They settle down and begin their breakfast, a companionable silence overtaking them as habit dictates what food goes to who. 

In the early morning light, Angeal and Sephiroth look almost like siblings, dark hair and contemplative faces, cradling their bowls of food in nondescript button downs and work pants. 

“Thank you, Sephiroth.” Genesis says. 

2.

When they make it to Icicle Inn, the owner of the weapons’ shop gives Aerith the key to her father’s house, and they move in. 

There’s a certain lived-in feeling to it. There’s still an old coffee cup sitting on the living room table, and books scattered dog-eared and faded on the bed. Tifa curiously observes the title of one such book, and sneezes cutely at the dust cloud that’s disturbed by doing it. When she sets it back down, the difference in color where her fingertips rested along it is stark; there is dust gathered on her fingertips. 

“Well,” Aerith says, biting her lip, “home sweet home?” 

“Aerith,” Tifa begins. 

“It’s seriously okay. I never knew the guy.” Aerith cuts her off, voice rising. 

Cloud sighs. “You’re a shit liar, but let’s give it a rest until you’re ready to talk about it.” 

She jumps on the chance to change the subject, gratefully standing on tip toe to kiss him on the cheek. Tifa gets a kiss, too, this one softer, almost like an apology. 

And, just like that, they never really get back around to talking about it. They talk around it, sure. Tifa, restless and lonely from being confined to light duty as her pregnancy progresses, cleans religiously. She finds photos of Aerith and her family sometimes, as she works, and when she presents them, Aerith is unsure what to do beyond gently shutting her out of conversation about it. When she finds old notes and diaries from Aerith’s parents, she leaves them where they can be found, and never presses. Aerith reads them with intensity.

 _I want very much for our little girl to make a family of her own someday, away from all of this,_ her mother had written, long ago. Aerith writes back, _Baby steps._ _Literally!_

They’re happy for a little while, doing their work. Aerith hitches rides with Cloud and other people in the NGP as they travel the northern continent. The bulk of this work is left to the experts—surveyors and geologists and other assorted scientists for every little thing she’s never really had the chance to learn about, while Cloud talks with them about budgets and time and people. She’s seeing more of the planet than she ever thought possible, and it’s lovely, and sometimes she’s angry with herself for missing the stalwart expanse of a steel plate above.

\--

She cherishes her talks with Genesis, even the absurdity of coordinating their wee hours to make it work.

This morning, Aerith is curled up on their living room couch, her laptop set up on the table as she waits for Genesis’ shoddy connection to settle. The pitter patter of Tifa’s feet is unmistakable on their hardware floor, especially as she scurries to free herself of the morning chill. Cloud had seen her do it one too many times and can’t be persuaded against installing a carpet, and though Tifa had called him a worrywart for it, Aerith is privately grateful for it. 

“Good morning!” Aerith greets her, giggling at her huffing approach. “Come here, I wanna hold you.” 

And though Tifa’s always a little bashful about doing this under Genesis’ watchful eyes, eventually her need for comfort is obviously great enough that she nods an assent and waits for Aerith to part her many blankets so she can snuggle up. 

“Good morning, love,” Genesis says, his video sharpening abruptly into focus. 

“Morning!” Tifa squeaks. 

“Bad dream?” Aerith hums. 

“Actually…” 

Tifa threads her fingers through Aerith’s. She moves it over her belly, pressing. Sure enough, there’s a little kick, which shocks a delighted laugh out of Aerith. 

“Genesis, a kick!” She gasps. 

She pokes at Tifa’s stomach. Another kick, and Tifa giggles. 

“Congratulations! Your child is going to be terribly spoiled.” 

“You say that like I don’t expect you to contribute, dummy.” 

She lopes her arms around Tifa’s waist and kisses her neck, wondering if maybe her parents hadn’t had similar conversations in this very spot. 

\--

They are one of a handful of families settling into Icicle Inn as the NGP sets about developing nearby Modeoheim for inhabitation. Aerith knows with certainty that they won’t be staying for long, and is privately grateful, for all it has been nice to see snow. The nature of their work is that it takes them far, and being stuck in a nearly unchanging landscape has significantly warped her sense of time. They’re set to leave a month before Tifa’s expected due date, certainly, and the plans for just where are vague. Who knows where the winds of change will take them next. They are needed everywhere.

Once, just once, Cloud and Aerith’s worrying drives Tifa into a rare fit of frustration. And then, heartbreakingly, she crumbles and says, “I want my mom,” and Aerith hates it for her. Pregnancy has all but ruined her sleep schedule, and she takes her rest where she can find it, signing papers and managing meetings from afar. If Aerith is itching to leave with all that she’s had on her mind, Tifa must be truly suffering. And, beneath it all, Aerith gets it.

She wants her mom, too. 

\--

As they’re leaving, Cloud asks if she’d like to keep the house. 

Aerith puts the key in his hands, curls his fingers over it. 

“Give it to somebody who needs it.” 

\--

To their relief, Tifa gives birth to a healthy baby girl in Mideel, which is where they’ll be settling in for the time being. It’s Aerith who chooses the name Dana, for no reason other than that she’s always liked it. It’s short, simple, and untethered to the memory of any other person. Dana and Tifa and Aerith and Cloud—maybe if any more children follow they’ll choose a name with one syllable. 

She’s not at all surprised to find that Cloud is amazing with Dana. Sometimes, she thinks back on that day in Midgar, on everything she saw amidst the Planet’s cries, and wonders if he’s afraid. He doesn’t seem to be. Sad, sometimes, when he doesn’t think anyone is watching. But mostly, he’s about as serene about the whole thing as he usually is, tackles it with humor and practicality.

They aren’t half bad. Between them, Gjertude and Elymra, and the rest of the crew, Dana is the most loved baby in the word.

\--

It’s morning in Wutai when Aerith is finally able to speak with Sephiroth for the first time, but she’s been struggling to sleep anyway. Between convincing Genesis to pass along a message, and coordinating their respective duties, she’d been half convinced that she and Sephiroth were doomed to months worth of voicemail tag.

“Hi,” She tells him, watching with curiosity as he gets comfortable in his seat, dark hair dusting his shoulders. 

“Hello.” 

“Did you read the leaks?” She blurts out.

Sephiroth smiles at her, more a sardonic thing than something borne of amusement. 

“Some of it.” 

“Then you know about the Ancients.” 

“Yes, I know about you.” 

She was expecting it—Cloud has been quietly tickled by it for years—but his directness is scary. It catches the overflow of words that have been building in her mind for years now and squashes them out, eliminates every platitude and small talk she might have considered employing to lead up to this conversation. 

She remembers seeing this man on television for years, all steely beauty and monotone words, hero of a war she now knows he hated more than anything. He’s different. His eyes still have their same odd slit, but the new coloring suits him better, she thinks. 

“Did you read the part, where, um… Where Hojo wanted us to have kids one day?” She asks, with a little laugh. 

To her surprise, this earns her another little smile, but this one is honest. “Missed my chance, I’d say.” 

“Oh, for sure,” Aerith says, grinning.

“Besides, I have it on good authority that we’re related, in a way.”

“Wow, what a mess! Let’s have a family reunion. You, me, and like the one hotdog between us.” 

They share a quiet and clearly nervous laugh.

The moment of humor passes between them in silence. Aerith props her chin on her knuckles and breathes a sigh through her nose. “Tell me about my mom.” 

So he does. He shares Ifalna’s stories of her family and its traditions, and then her more fantastical stories of the gods and their dominions. How they’d play tic-tac-toe on the walls of his room and then make a game of cleaning them before Hojo had a chance to see them. The times she’d hold him after a particularly rough bout of tests. 

She relearns her mother in these little stories: How she loved dangly earrings, how she played with her hair when she was thinking, the floral way she smelled, her sense of humor and her kindness. The two of them commiserate on Hojo’s worst moments, on the antiseptic smell of the labs, of scars that healed on the skin deep only to linger in the mind, of broken attachments and books confiscated. Hours pass this way. Briefly but powerfully, Aerith hates to the marrow of her bones that the two of them were separated in their youth.

At one point, Tifa pops in with a fussing Dana, and begs Aerith to take over so she can have an hour of rest. Catching sight of her no doubt red eyes, Tifa pauses and asks, “Oh no, are you good? Is this a bad time?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine! We’re just, um. Reminiscing. Gimme the munchkin. She alright?” Aerith asks, glimpsing their daughter’s flushed face.

“Yeah! Fed and clean, just having a grumpy time. We all have those days. Hi, Sephiroth.” Tifa waves at Sephiroth and then leans down to give Aerith a kiss of thanks, her bashfulness clearly eradicated by her lack of sleep. After Sephiroth returns her greeting, Tifa squeezes Aerith’s shoulder and putters off for the bedroom. 

To Aerith’s mixed horror and amusement, Dana endures this exchange with a whine of misery and then breaks off into the saddest little hiccuping cries Aerith has ever heard in her life. Aerith bundles her close, presses a kiss onto her warm forehead, and rocks her back and forth until she’s soothed into a restless silence. She’s got Tifa’s hair, thankfully, but those sad little eyes are all Cloud.

Her mother probably had to do the same thing, somewhere a lot less warm and loving than this, without a partner. Did she see some of her Aerith’s father in splotchy cheeks and late night tantrums? She’s so grateful that her kids will never know the loneliness of her own childhood. Aerith breathes in, and then the air leaves her in a dry little sob. 

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Sephiroth mutters, apologetic.

“It’s not your fault. Oh my gosh! I just love her so much.” Aerith admits. “It’s just that I’d literally fight everybody to make sure this little girl is safe. And look at me, my arms are all noodly.” 

She flexes her free arm under his quietly amused gaze, and then she turns Dana around, presenting her to the camera. “Have you seen my baby? I think you should see my baby, even if you already have. She’s cuter than you, even with all the snot.” 

“Truly a marvel of human creation.” Sephiroth says.

She laughs as she brings Dana back in. “Can we do this again?” 


End file.
